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Cost of housing among area's top woes [Leaving San Francisco]
San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 2/27/6 | Kelly Zito

Posted on 02/27/2006 7:35:12 AM PST by SmithL

Survey cites it as major reason 2 of 5 residents consider leaving.

You're not the only one dreaming of ditching the Bay Area for a Midwestern college town or a coastal city in the Southeast.

Two out of five residents of the nine-county region have given serious thought to moving away -- mostly because of high housing costs, according to a survey released today by a business and public policy group.

The Bay Area Council's annual poll found that concerns about housing ranked as the region's second-most-vexing problem, behind transportation woes.

Even with some recent cooling in the local housing market, the price for a middle-of-the-road single-family home hovers around $628,000, or about triple the national average. That means many families with two income-earners are having a hard time managing.

"In some cases they're cashing out, and in some cases they just can't afford to stay," said Jim Wunderman, president of the Bay Area Council, which conducted the survey of 600 randomly selected people from Jan. 16 to 23.

Although 35 percent of respondents ranked transportation as their highest concern, 19 percent said housing was the biggest problem. Forty percent said they have considered moving out of the region, and 70 percent of those cited high housing costs as a major factor.

In 1996, as the real estate market began to recover from the early 1990s recession, only 1 percent of respondents cited housing as a big concern.

The annual survey, which takes the public's temperature on a range of issues, echoes similar findings by the Public Policy Institute of California, which in 2004 found that exorbitant home prices were forcing 31 percent of those ages 18 to 31 to ponder moving away from the region or out of...state.

(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; News/Current Events; US: California
KEYWORDS: baghdadbythebay; californiahereigo; goeastyoungman; landoffruitsandnuts; sanfranfreako
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To: martin_fierro

It's still brutal here! I live near Berkeley and everything on the market was built in the 30's or 40's and while it is taking longer to sell everything is still selling. My girlfriend and I make over 100 K and we are not even in the game at this point. It makes better business sense for us to rent right now. We have a 3 bedroom all utilities included for $1600 per month which for the Bay area isn't half bad.


21 posted on 02/27/2006 10:26:34 AM PST by Xanadu2112
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To: Xanadu2112
We have a 3 bedroom all utilities included for $1600 per month which for the Bay area isn't half bad.

That *isn't* bad for this area.

22 posted on 02/27/2006 10:30:06 AM PST by martin_fierro (< |:)~)
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To: SmithL

Cost of Housing? Yeah, that and utter disgust.

The utter stupidity and perversion of the local, state and federal politicians is enough to make any one gag and move away.


23 posted on 02/27/2006 10:32:41 AM PST by OKIEDOC (There's nothing like hearing someone say thank you for your help.)
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To: Awestruck
Ummm ... uhhh ... excuse me? We moved from the Bay Area to SD 10 years ago and find SD to be as wonderful as any American city 50 years ago, before the 70s. Methinks you have blinders on. All the Moms stay home, everyone I meet is a churchgoer, 65% Republican, strongly pro-military.

I'm not trying to outdo the central coast ... but SD is an absolutely wonderful place to live.

24 posted on 02/27/2006 10:50:08 AM PST by tom h
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To: tom h
Yeah, just don't try to buy anything out here. Frickin' 699k for a rundown duplex on the corner next to me. I don't know *anyone* who's even a mom, let alone ones that stay home. All I know are hippy wannabe lesbians who think they have something between their legs that they don't.

No one I know goes to church, though I have two right across the street (Catholic and Lutheran)... hate the military, are militant Dims, and are still in college at 30 years old living with mom & dad. Oh, yeah... these are mostly the people that grew up here too.

All of that being said, I am a Colorado girl at heart, and I really hate San Diego. BUT... it does have it's great sides, and one of those is the Marine and Navy population that it does have!
25 posted on 02/27/2006 12:33:05 PM PST by Jhohanna (Born Free)
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To: jiggyboy

That's retarded. Who would pay that much for a shack like that?


26 posted on 02/27/2006 12:34:54 PM PST by chris1
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To: Awestruck
Move to the central coast .. it's the only conservative coastal area in California.

It's great - if you don't need to work. Jobs are hard to come by between San Jose and Burbank.

27 posted on 02/27/2006 12:37:58 PM PST by Mr. Jeeves ("When the government is invasive, the people are wanting." -- Tao Te Ching)
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To: Desron13
What kind of imbecile would spend that kind of money on this teeny little place when you could buy a veritable palace elsewhere!

1) The kind that thinks they will be able to turn around and sell it for $900K in a couple of years.

2) The kind that has let a mortgage lender fool them into thinking that this is "their last chance to ever own a home in the Bay Area!!!"

3) The kind that thinks they absolutely have to pay that kind of money to avoid being "gay-bashed" by rabid red state Bush supporters if they move to Stockton. ;)

28 posted on 02/27/2006 12:40:47 PM PST by Mr. Jeeves ("When the government is invasive, the people are wanting." -- Tao Te Ching)
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To: chris1

It's overpriced even for Silicon Valley and everybody knows it, even the listing agent -- the flyer suggests that you tear the place down and build a 5-unit multiplex in its place.

It's been sitting there For Sale since like July, which was our peak.


29 posted on 02/27/2006 12:42:52 PM PST by jiggyboy (Ten percent of poll respondents are either lying or insane)
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To: martin_fierro

Us locals know that at that "bargain" price, there are probably major structural problems, and likely a bad neighborhood and schools as well.

About 1 million is the going rate for anything worth living in anywhere in the metro Bay Area.


30 posted on 02/27/2006 12:51:13 PM PST by Wiseghy ("You want to break this army? Then break your word to it.")
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To: jiggyboy

I live in NYC metro area so you don't have to tell me.

Its utterly absurd what is going on. Us young people really have a great 30 years to look forward to!


31 posted on 02/27/2006 12:53:20 PM PST by chris1
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To: SmithL

I made that decision back in 1994! I left the Bay Area and never looked back! One of the best decisions of my life!


32 posted on 02/27/2006 12:54:23 PM PST by Redleg Duke (Kennedy and Kerry, the two Commissars of the Peoples' Republic of Massachusetts!)
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To: martin_fierro

A house like that would go for less than $60K - not $600K - in my region.


33 posted on 02/27/2006 12:55:05 PM PST by steelcurtain
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To: Philistone
But who wants to pay 380k for a two bedroom condo in a shopping mall?

You won't find a 2 bdr condo for 380k in SF. The junior one bedroom condos with (with parking) across the street from my apartment complex go for around 425,000....for a glorified studio apartment!!

34 posted on 02/27/2006 12:57:41 PM PST by GSWarrior
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To: chris1

NYC has already gone as far as it's going to go unless they institute 100 year mortgages, which is a possibility. Look for prices to drop 20- 30% over the next couple of years.


35 posted on 02/27/2006 12:59:27 PM PST by durasell (!)
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To: martin_fierro

During the mid-90's a web designer I knew moved from NM to the Bay area. I asked him how it was going. He said in NM me made $15K and lived in a s#ithole, and in SF he made $80K and lived in a s#ithole.


36 posted on 02/27/2006 1:00:40 PM PST by Tijeras_Slim
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To: GSWarrior

I can't imagine anyone in their right mind paying these prices right now. It seems way more probably that the cost will go down than up. Who can afford anything at these prices without totally F^&^&%ing the next 30 years of their life?


37 posted on 02/27/2006 1:00:55 PM PST by chris1
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To: Tijeras_Slim

During the mid-90's a web designer I knew moved from NM to the Bay area. I asked him how it was going. He said in NM me made $15K and lived in a s#ithole, and in SF he made $80K and lived in a s#ithole.


Moral of the story: web designers like to live in s#itholes?


38 posted on 02/27/2006 1:01:57 PM PST by durasell (!)
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To: durasell

You can't even buy anything in Brooklyn anymore the prices are so freaking high.

The Bronx is crazy too.


39 posted on 02/27/2006 1:02:04 PM PST by chris1
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To: chris1

Depends on how far out into Brooklyn and the Bronx you want to go?


40 posted on 02/27/2006 1:03:06 PM PST by durasell (!)
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